19 April

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Negligence in Torts: Elements, Duty of Care, and Nigerian Case Law Explained

in 200 Level, Case Analysis, Class Notes, Educational Articles, Exam Preparation, Law of Torts, Study Resources

Think about the last time you were stuck behind a danfo driver swerving dangerously on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Or think about the reports you have seen of patients dying after surgery at a public hospital due to what their families describe as careless treatment. Or the stories of children electrocuted by exposed NEPA cables left dangling by the roadside. All of these situations have one thing in common: they may give rise to an action in the tort of negligence. Negligence is the single most important tort in Nigerian law today. It provides a legal remedy for persons who suffer harm because...

04 April

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The Concept of the Family and Family Law

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Class Notes, Family Law

The Concept of the Family and Family Law

Family law is one of the most practically significant areas of legal study, touching the most intimate and consequential relationships in human life. Yet it begins with a deceptively simple question: what is a family? The difficulty of answering that question with precision shapes the entire discipline. The concept of the family is, at once, very easy and very difficult to define. It is easy in the sense that most people can identify those they personally regard as family. It is difficult because one person's definition is not necessarily another's, and both may differ from the legal definition. A legal system...

04 April

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Guardianship in Law: Types, Appointment, Duties, and Termination

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Family Law

Guardianship in Law: Types, Appointment, Duties, and Termination

Guardianship is a legal concept that places one person in a position of legal authority and responsibility over another person who is incapable of managing their own affairs, typically because of age, incapacity, or disability. It is a fiduciary relationship, meaning the guardian holds their authority not for personal benefit but in trust for the welfare of the person under their care. Guardianship has been defined as "the fiduciary relationship between a guardian and a ward or other incapacitated person, whereby the guardian assumes the power to make decisions about the ward's person or property." The relationship is premised on trust....

03 April

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Adoption in Nigeria: Statutory Framework, Procedure, and Customary Law

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Class Notes, Family Law

Adoption in Nigeria: Statutory Framework, Procedure, and Customary Law

Adoption is a legal process which permanently transfers parental rights and responsibilities from a child's biological parents to adoptive parents, thereby giving the child a new legal family. It is a way of providing new families for children who cannot be brought up by their biological parents — whether through death, abandonment, incapacity, or other circumstances. Adoption is significant in Nigerian law for several reasons. It directly affects legal status — an adopted child loses all legal ties with their biological parents and acquires a new set of rights and obligations within the adoptive family. It affects succession and inheritance —...

01 April

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Islamic Marriage in Nigeria: Formation, Requirements, and Legal Framework

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Class Notes, Educational Articles, Family Law

Islamic marriage known as Nikah, is one of the three forms of marriage recognised under Nigerian law, alongside statutory marriage and customary law marriage. See our Marriage and Divorce Law in Nigeria guide for the comparative overview of all three systems. Islamic marriage is particularly significant in the northern states of Nigeria where Sharia courts exercise jurisdiction over personal law matters for Muslims. However, its legal principles apply to Muslims across the federation regardless of state of residence. Islamic marriage is grounded in religious obligation. As prescribed by Allah, it is the lawful union of a man and a woman based on mutual...

01 April

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Dissolution of Customary Law and Islamic Marriage in Nigeria

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Class Notes, Family Law

Dissolution of Customary Law and Islamic Marriage in Nigeria

Nigeria operates a pluralist legal system in which customary law and Islamic law co-exist with received English law as recognised sources of legal obligation. See our note on Sources of Law in Nigeria for the broader framework. This pluralism is nowhere more visible than in family law — specifically in how marriages contracted under customary and Islamic law are dissolved. For the rules governing dissolution of statutory marriage, see our 300L note on Dissolution of Statutory Marriage. For the foundational introduction to marriage types in Nigeria, see the Marriage and Divorce Law in Nigeria guide. Part I: Dissolution of Customary Law...

01 April

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Double Deck Marriage in Nigeria: Legal Framework, Theories, and Consequences

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Case Analysis, Class Notes, Family Law, Legal News

Double Deck Marriage in Nigeria: Legal Framework, Theories, and Consequences

It has become a deeply embedded practice in Nigeria for couples who intend to contract a statutory marriage to first marry under customary law before proceeding to the registry or church. This phenomenon — commonly referred to as double deck marriage — is not a legal term found in any statute. It is a concept developed in Nigerian family law scholarship, most notably by Onokah, to describe the situation where the same couple conducts a marriage in accordance with their indigenous customary law and subsequently goes further to conduct a separate marriage under the received English law, resulting in a...

01 April

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Void and Voidable Marriages in Nigeria: Nullity, Grounds, and Bars

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Case Analysis, Civil Cases, Class Notes, Family Law

Void and Voidable Marriages in Nigeria: Nullity, Grounds, and Bars

Before reading this article, ensure you understand the three types of marriage recognised under Nigerian law. For that foundation, see our Marriage and Divorce Law in Nigeria guide. This article focuses on nullity — what it means when a marriage is legally defective from the start, and the doctrinal distinction between marriages that are void and those that are merely voidable. What is Nullity? Nullity is concerned with marriages that are legally blemished from the outset. It is conceptually distinct from divorce. Divorce terminates a valid, subsisting marriage. Nullity, by contrast, is a declaration that the marriage either never existed in law...

30 March

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Dissolution of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Grounds, Case Law, and Procedure

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Case Analysis, Civil Cases, Class Notes, Educational Articles, Family Law

Dissolution of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Grounds, Case Law, and Procedure

If you need a foundational introduction to the types of marriage in Nigeria and the general divorce process, start with our Marriage and Divorce Law in Nigeria guide. This article builds on that foundation and goes deeper — into the case law, statutory construction, and doctrinal arguments you are expected to engage with at the 300L level or 200L in some schools. What is a Matrimonial Cause? A matrimonial cause is a proceeding for a decree of dissolution of marriage, nullity of marriage, judicial separation, or restitution of conjugal rights. An appeal against a decision in a matrimonial cause is itself still...

13 February

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Mistake of Fact and Claim of Right in Nigerian Criminal Law

Posted by Kolawole Adebowale

in 200 Level, Class Notes, Criminal Law, Legal News

Mistake of Fact and Claim of Right in Nigerian Criminal Law

People act based on what they think is real. Sometimes they're wrong. A hunter shoots at a bush thinking it's an animal, but hits a person. Someone takes money thinking it's theirs. The act was deliberate, but based on a wrong belief. Nigerian law handles these errors through Mistake of Fact (Section 25) and Bona Fide Claim of Right (Section 23). Mistake of Fact (Section 25) Section 25 provides the defense: "A person who does or omits to do an act under an honest and reasonable, but mistaken belief...

Negligence in Torts: Elements, Duty of Care, and Nigerian Case Law Explained

The Concept of the Family and Family Law

Guardianship in Law: Types, Appointment, Duties, and Termination

Adoption in Nigeria: Statutory Framework, Procedure, and Customary Law

Islamic Marriage in Nigeria: Formation, Requirements, and Legal Framework

Dissolution of Customary Law and Islamic Marriage in Nigeria

Double Deck Marriage in Nigeria: Legal Framework, Theories, and Consequences

Void and Voidable Marriages in Nigeria: Nullity, Grounds, and Bars

Dissolution of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Grounds, Case Law, and Procedure

Mistake of Fact and Claim of Right in Nigerian Criminal Law

Corporate Personality in Nigerian Law: The Salomon Principle and the Veil of Incorporation

History of Company Law in Nigeria: From Trade by Barter to CAMA 2020

The Tort of Deceit in Nigerian Law: Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Liability

The Tort of Conspiracy in Nigerian Law: Elements, Defences, and Remedies

Trespass to Chattel, Conversion, and Detinue in Nigerian Law: A Complete Guide

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